Highwaymen

Highwaymen were horseback robbers (primarily from Great Britain) who stole from travellers from the Elizabethan era until the early 19th century. The great age of highwaymen occurred from 1660 to 1714, with many of them being disbanded soldiers and even officers of the English Civil War and the wars with France. As parish constables were almost wholly ineffective, highwayman crime was almost unpunished, and some highwaymen - instead of attacking travellers - charged travellers fees to pass down dangerous roads. They became known for their cry of "Stand and deliver!", asking for people to deliver their purses or money, and they targeted unprotected coaches, public stagecoaches, and postboys. England's last recorded highwayman robbery occurred in 1831; causes for the end of highwayman attacks included the widespread availability of revolvers for the populace, the development of railways, the expansion of turnpikes and toll-roads, the replacement of gold coins with more traceable banknotes, the expansion of police forces, and the loss of remote places due to the urbanization brought with the Industrial Revolution.